In 2007 Campbell ran for a seat on the school board in North Mason County, Washington, under the name of John Campbell. He offered his services to "restore trust," and "establish transparency", but did not disclose his links to intelligent design. In a telephone interview he stated that he would not be dealing with curricula, and that he is a "Darwinist" who considers that debating Darwin can engage the interest of students and improve their skills in critical thinking. He was quoted as saying "Rather than demonizing people that believe in ID, I think there are ways people could use their ideas to study Darwinism more closely." The election was held on November 6, 2007, and the unofficial results showed John Campbell defeating the incumbent Glenn Landram by 2,996 votes (68.06%) to 1,406 (31.94%), which was certified on November 27. He currently serves on the schoolboard.